Chapter 1040: Buddha in One’s Heart
Lu Yang hissed. I can’t tell whether Second Senior Brother just complimented or insulted my looks.
“I’d already noticed you were in Xitian City on New Year’s Eve and thought about finding you. But I didn’t expect you to be quite the runner, Little Junior Brother. You were gone in the blink of an eye.
“I assumed you had left Xitian City long ago. Who would have thought you were hiding right inside Xitian Temple?”
Ye Zijin was astonished to see Lu Yang. An Intermediate Divine Transfiguration cultivator managed to hide in Xitian Temple for so long without being detected.
“I got lucky. The Qingfeng Sword protected me.” Lu Yang smiled sheepishly. Xitian Temple has no shortage of Fusion cultivators. I wouldn’t have hidden this long by relying on my own merits.
“Qingfeng Sword? The immortal sword our shifu shamelessly begged Big Senior Sister for, yet she still wouldn’t give it to him?”
“Mmm. By the way, Second Senior Brother, I heard you’ve been in the Buddhist Kingdom all this time. Why haven’t you come back?”
“Well, I accidentally offended someone. Big Senior Sister suggested I come to the Buddhist Kingdom to train and gain experience. While at it, I could search for clues about the Epoch Immortal.”
Lu Yang was surprised. “Who did you offend? Even Big Senior Sister couldn’t protect you?”
“Big Senior Sister.”
“...” Lu Yang. Second Senior Brother, you’ve been sent away on penal exile, haven’t you?
Lu Yang remembered that when he was young and ignorant, he had rashly asked about Yun Zhi’s age, only to be exiled to the border to fight demon beasts and condense his Unbeatable Golden Core.
“Clues about the Epoch Immortal?”
“Big Senior Sister noticed that every New Year, the Nian Year Beasts come from the west, circle the world, and end in the west. There’s also a legend that Nian Year Beasts are immortal beasts nurtured by the Epoch Immortal. Thus, she suspects that there are clues left behind by the Epoch Immortal in the Buddhist Kingdom.”
A peculiar expression crossed Lu Yang’s face. What a coincidence. My arrival in Xitian Temple is connected to the Nian Year Beasts, too. I just don’t know where they had flown off after dropping me here.
“You know what? Coming to the Buddhist Kingdom has really broadened my horizons. The cultivation methods are quite different from ours in the Great Xia.
“The Buddhist Kingdom primarily practices Buddhist cultivation, and what Buddhist cultivators value most is the Grand Wish Cultivation Method.
“Typically, when Buddhist cultivators reach the Nascent Soul Stage, they will make a grand wish to propagate Buddhist teachings. The specifics of the grand wish vary from person to person. The more important their grand wish is to Buddhism, the more incense power they receive.
“The simplest and most common wish is to forge a golden body for a Buddha. That’s why you always encounter monks collecting alms. They’re gathering funds to fulfill their grand wish.”
Lu Yang had learned a bit about the Grand Wish Cultivation Method from Master Duanchen of Kaihuang Temple, but not in such detail as Ye Zijin had explained.
“I observed that the Buddhist Kingdom’s temples are full of corruption. The monks’ cultivation is lacking, especially the elders of Xitian Temple. Upon seeing me, they only exchanged a few words with me before striking, violating the precept against anger.
“Hence, I made a grand wish. Through my influence, I hope to help Xitian Temple’s elders abide by the precept against pride, impatience, and anger, elevating their mental state so that they’re more emotionally stable when they see me.
“I estimate that when I fulfill this grand wish, the incense power I receive will be enough to take me to the Transcendent Tribulation Stage, though I’m not sure which phase I’ll reach.”
Some grand wishes had precedents, like Master Duanchen's wish of making Kaihuang Temple’s incense offerings flourish. Fulfilling the wish could elevate him to the Void Refinement Stage. Ye Zijin’s grand wish had no precedent, so he could only make rough estimates.
Lu Yang commented inwardly, Second Senior Brother, isn’t your grand wish a bit too ambitious? Can you fulfill it?
“Wait, Senior Brother, you’re not a monk. Can you still use the Grand Wish Cultivation Method?”
Does this cultivation method have no restrictions?
“Who says I’m not a monk?” Ye Zijin tore off his wig, revealing a bald head with nine jieba ordination scars.
“How did you think I managed to impersonate Kongxing just now? I’m an officially registered monk in the Buddhist Kingdom.” As he spoke, he put his wig back on and produced a fake identity certificate, along with a series of false supporting documents.
The Buddhist Kingdom didn’t place much emphasis on the law, so Ye Zijin felt no guilt about forgery, doing it with practiced ease.
“Of course, registration and shaving are just appearances. The most important thing is to have the Buddha in one’s heart.” Ye Zijin recited “Amitabha,” looking every bit like an eminent monk. If he went out to swindle, he would succeed every time.
“Have the Buddha in one’s heart?”
Inside the mental space, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy hugged a pillow and rolled back and forth on her bed, without the slightest regard for her image. As soon as she heard Ye Zijin’s words, she perked up with interest.
“This immortal is in your heart, Xiao Yangzi, so you are the most orthodox Buddhist cultivator.”
With the World-Honored One residing in his mental space, personally instructing him day and night, no Buddhist cultivator was more orthodox than Lu Yang.
“Besides, you’ve learned the Play-Dead Technique from me, making you my student. Every Buddhist cultivator in this era should address you as ‘Founding Ancestor.’”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy felt genuinely happy for Lu Yang that he possessed such a status.
Lu Yang’s eyelid twitched. The Immortal Fairy’s words don’t seem wrong, but something just feels off.
“After all these years in the Buddhist Kingdom, I’ve discovered a big secret it’s been hiding,” Ye Zijin said mysteriously.
“What big secret?”
“You know Abbot Master Mingyu, right? The outside world has always believed that he’s at the Apex Transcendent Tribulation Stage. In truth, he possesses an Incipient Dao Fruit and is a half-immortal!”
“Oh, so what’s the big secret?”
Ye Zijin’s head was full of question marks. Why is Little Junior Brother’s reaction so flat? This is a half-immortal! The world doesn’t even know about it!
“Actually, I’ve also found clues that might point to the Epoch Immortal.” Ye Zijin had to mention another matter.
“Where?”
“Xitian Temple’s Mahavira Hall. I suspect the Epoch Immortal left a magical treasure there. Unfortunately, the Mahavira Hall is heavily guarded, and I can’t sneak in.” Ye Zijin spoke with certainty.
“Immortal Fairy, is there something in the Mahavira Hall?”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy immediately extended her immortal consciousness, silently enveloping the Mahavira Hall without triggering any array.
“There’s nothing out of the ordinary. It’s just a bit larger than the one I built.”
“Are there other clues?” Lu Yang asked Ye Zijin.
“The scripture library is also suspicious. Legend has it that the first floor hides the World-Honored One's Enlightenment Visualization Painting and many other fortuitous opportunities. The Epoch Immortal’s magical treasure may be hidden there! I sneaked into the scripture library tonight to investigate, but before I could find anything, the senior sweeping the place discovered me!”
Lu Yang had heard the Everlasting Immortal Fairy describe the World-Honored One's Enlightenment Visualization Painting. It was merely a blurred figure of a Buddha under a bodhi tree. There was nothing remarkable. It was less useful than directly visualizing the Heaven Mandate Immortal. As for the other items, though they could be called fortuitous opportunities, they weren’t linked to the Epoch Immortal.
Let alone the first floor of the scripture library, even the entire building held nothing of value to the Everlasting Immortal Fairy.
“Anything else?” Lu Yang probed again.
“There’s one last clue. Xitian Temple has a secret domain, whose location is known only to Master Mingyu. Every year, he sends young monks at the Qi Training Stage inside. No one knows what’s in there, and those who’ve entered lose their memories. That secret domain may contain something left behind by the Epoch Immortal.”
